Clos du Tue-Boeuf 'Le Brin de Chevre' 2023 Loire Valley, France

Grape: Menu Pineau

Style: Medium bodied with texture and balanced acidity. Yellow apple, citrus, and dried herbs.

Details: From two parcels with 75+ year old vines. Organic, plowed by horse. Spontaneous fermentation in large old oak. Aged 12 months on lees in demi muids and Burgundy barrels. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, minimal SO2.

Story: Brin de Chèvre ("goat`s hay") comes from two neighboring parcels, one planted in 1937 and the other in 1950; currently, those original old vines make up about 70% of the wine, with the rest from massale-selection replantings from over the last decade or two. The Puzelats farm the vineyard organically and with horse and plow to avoid damage to the very old vines. The vines are planted on sticky clay-flint soil and have a cold, windy exposure. Harvest here is often the latest of all Tue Boeuf vineyards. The hand-harvested bunches are partly left in whole clusters and partly destemmed with 2-3 days of maceration to kick off the spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and without sulfur in large oak tanks. The wine ages 8-9 months in used demi-muids and Burgundy barrels, with occasional lees stirring and without racking. It is bottled unfiltered and with little to no sulfur. Brin de Chèvre is classified as a Vin de France.